Test waivers request: Districts around the state that have seen spikes in enrollment due to this season's hurricanes are requesting waivers from the state of the testing requirements for graduation for those students. Without the waivers, officials from the districts say, many students will be held back even though they were on track to graduate from their island schools. “I think that if they were demonstrating on-grade proficiency in Puerto Rico, if they were on track in terms of credits necessary for graduation, if they have met the prerequisites for graduation, then I think a degree of compassion ought to be extended to them and provide them safe passage to the graduation stage,” says Miami-Dade Superintendent Alberto Carvalho. More than 8,500 students from the islands have enrolled in Florida schools, and more are expected. The 74.
Students save bookstore: Third-graders at Tomoka Elementary School in Ormond Beach are credited with saving a Barnes & Noble bookstore that was in danger of closing. Students wrote a letter to the company CEO, asking him for help, and he intervened to get the Daytona Beach store's lease extended. “I thought it was very empowering for our students to learn that their voice can make a significant change,” says Tomoka principal Susan Tuten. Daytona Beach News-Journal.
Mental health counselors: St. Johns County School Board members will consider a proposal to place a licensed mental health counselor at every school in the district. School officials say the cost would be covered through “defined member benefits” of individual insurance or government assistance plans. These counselors, also called motivational coaches, would be provided by the Motivational Coaches of America Inc. of Doral. If the board approves the plan, a pilot program will run from January to June at several middle and high schools. St. Augustine Record.
Testing bill stalls: The Senate Education Committee temporarily postpones a vote on SB 926, the so-called "Fewer, Better Tests" bill to revise the state's assessments program. The bill would push all testing to the final three weeks of the school year, require results back in a week, and order the Department of Education to study whether the ACT and SAT tests could be substituted for the Florida Standards Assessments (FSA). Several critics of the bill says it would do nothing to eliminate tests, despite its nickname, and could force the student passing rate down by tying the FSA passing scores to those of the more rigorous National Assessment for Educational Progress test. Miami Herald. Orlando Sentinel. Tallahassee Democrat. News Service of Florida. Sunshine State News. WFSU. Gradebook.
Facilities funding: A bill filed in the Florida House would require school districts to proportionately split local property tax revenues with charter schools after the money districts set aside for construction debts is deducted. An analysis of the bill indicates that the state's 556 charter schools would receive about $148 million, or nearly double what they now get. To qualify, charter schools would either be required to have 50 percent or more of its students receiving free or reduced-price lunches, or avoid consecutive years with a school grade below a B. redefinED.
Computer coding: The Florida House Pre-K-12 Quality Subcommittee deletes mention of allowing computer coding classes to fulfill foreign language requirements from HB 265. It's the second straight year the idea has run into opposition in the House. The amended version of the bill emphasizes ways the Department of Education can push computer coding classes in public schools. Miami Herald.
School material challenges: The Senate and House both pass bills (SB 1210, HB 989) that would make it easier for parents and community members to see what materials and books are being used in schools and to challenge them if they find the materials objectionable. Gradebook. (more…)
